Natascha Govender-Ropert
Education is a great equaliser
Natasha Govender-Ropert is a strong advocate for education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), especially for women and disadvantaged communities.
When she describes education as ‘a great equaliser’, Natasha – who has been crazy about coding from a very young age – knows what she is talking about, having grown up in South Africa during Apartheid. “As a person of colour I would not have had the opportunity to go to university, study computer science and pursue my dreams if Apartheid has not been abolished at the right time. Even though the journey has not been easy – because you can change laws of a country but discrimination does not disappear overnight – education has opened doors for me. I want it to be able to create such opportunities for other females as well.” Natasha enjoyed sharing her own experiences in the tech domain at European Women in Tech, Europe’s largest tech event for women, an annual event in June.
Female professionals in a male-dominated tech environment
In the panel discussion, Natasha and three other ING colleagues have been talking about the obstacles they have encountered as female professionals in a male-dominated tech environment, and how they’ve overcome them. “How did we navigate difficult situations? What works and what doesn’t? How can you deal with self-doubt and with doubts from others? How can you create and leverage a support system? We will also address conscious and unconscious bias. We each have our own unique stories to bring the discussion to life. There will be takeaways for everyone.”
We need alternatives to the traditional male perspective
Natasha loves to inspire and motivate other females to pursue a career in tech. “Woman are still a minority in our domain, which is not optimal, as we need alternatives to the traditional male perspective in our machine learning models, products and solutions. I want to show that technology is fun, and even though it can seem daunting, it’s not. I also want to encourage women to trust in their capabilities, both technical and otherwise. It is okay to make mistakes and learn from them. That’s what I try to facilitate in my own teams, and it’s great to see that ING supports this all the way.”
Natascha:
- Was one of the first females of colour in South Africa to obtain a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cape Town.
- Has led and participated in several national and international outreach initiatives and now serves as the Education Lead at the ‘Women in AI’ NGO
- Lives with her husband and their six-year-old daughter in Amsterdam
- Loves reading, especially mystery novels and psychological thrillers
- Is currently training for the Amsterdam half marathon